Hello all!

My husband and I just returned from 7 nights in the keys! What a great trip!

Hotels:

We spent 4 nights in the Bay Breeze hotel in Tavernier. It was fantastic! We had a unit right on their "beach" (manmade). It was one large room w/ a king size bed, wicker sofa, chair and a fridge and microwave for about $160/night. We couldn't have been happier, and I don't think you will find a better deal for the money. There are also grills and a table with chairs in front of each unit, and they have tiki huts with chairs and a hammock right on the beach. It's no 4-star resort by any stretch of the imagination, but was perfect for us. It's a small complex, we even had their entire beach to ourselves a few times. I don't think that you would have this opportunity at many of the other recommended hotels. The location was also great, it was about 10 miles north to Largo and 10 miles south to Islamorada.

The next 3 nights we spent in Key West at the Seabreeze Tropical Inn and Cottages. Again, we couldn't have been happier. We were in the "Mango Hideaway", which is a room located about one block from their main house in the "Eyebrow House". It was lovely, with a king size bed with down pillows and comforter, a large 2-head shower, bidet in the bath, and a private deck with a table and chairs and a jacuzzi! It was great and the price was very reasonable. The owners and staff are super nice and their location is perfect, just one block off of Duval and their main house is located right behind the Hemmingway House.

Snorkeling:

We bought snorkeling equipment our first day in the keys after lots of comparison shopping from Sundiver (across the street from the entrance to Pennekamp park). Their prices were fantastic for the quality of their equipment.

We snorkeled quite a bit from the beach at the Bay Breeze hotel in Tavernier and did see a few fish, but the snorkeling was best at the reefs. (There really is no comparison.)

We snorkeled twice at Pennekamp with Sundiver. They were great! Their trips are for snorkelers only, so you don't have to worry about a lot of divers on the boat making you feel like you are in the way. The seas were a little more rough the first day (but no one on the boat was seasick), so they took us to the Grecian Rocks site. It is more protected from the surf, so it allows for snorkeling when other sites are too choppy. The second time we went with them, there was less wind, so they took us to White Banks, where it is a little more exposed. The snorkeling was great! We saw tons of fish, a sea turtle and a large green moray eel.

On the way to Key West, we stopped at Bahia Honda State Park. The beach was beautiful (Sandspur is the nicest beach there - turn to the left as you drive into the park). We also took a snorkeling trip through the park to the Looe Key Marine Sanctuary. WOW! This was the best snorkeling of our trip. The reef was gorgeous and there were huge fish everywhere. We even saw 5 sharks! (Which I thought would scare me to death, but they were actually pretty cool!)

Our last snorkeling trip was from Key West with Sunny Days on the "Caribbean Spirit" which is a huge catamaran that holds about 100 people. It was nice because we only had 20 people on our trip and could really spread out! The sailing part was great, but the snorkeling was disappointing. We went to Rock Key. The coral was nice, but there just weren't many fish there. If we hadn't had so much success at Pennekamp and Looe Key, we probably would have loved it, but there was no comparison for us. However, the staff was great and they provided free beer and wine on the way back, which made it a lot of fun!

Well, I think that I have rambled on long enough for now. I'll post more on the fantastic meals that we had later!

Jane,
Excellent trip report!!
I've been considering the Keys for next Spring w/family, so I've been reading all I can about the "Keys".
We would definitely go for the snorkeling, and you've offered up some great ideas.
One question: On your way to Key West, did you do the Bahia Honda S.P. and the Looe Key in one day? Or, was Looe Key an excursion from Key West?
I'm reading how many people break up their stay on the Keys ~ staying in the Key Largo area then moving down to Key West. Can you tell me how long a drive it was from Key Largo to Key West (in hours, not markers?) Would want to minimize time spent in the car!
Thanks again, Tricia

Tricia,

We left the Bay Breeze in Tavernier (MM 92.5) at about 9am and arrived at the Bahia Honda Park at around 10:30 or 11:00 (I think - We really weren't trying to keep up with the time!). There is a fee to get into the park, but it was worth it. We went to the dive shop/gift shop first and registered for the snorkeling trip, then spent about an hour and a half on the beach and had lunch (hot dogs)at their snack bar. I believe that they have 2 snorkeling trips to Looe Key per day, one in the morning and another in the afternoon. Our trip was from 1:30 til 4:30. It was about a 45 minute boat ride to the reef and then you have an hour and a half in the water (which is plenty). We left Bahia Honda at about 5pm and arrived in Key West before 6:30. Driving on US1 in the keys is stop and go, so you can't really count on the mile markers as a true gauge of the time it will take, but we truly enjoyed the drive down.

I would DEFINITELY recommend breaking up your trip between an upper key and the Key West area. Key West is great, but we decided that we would have been bored to tears if we had spent the entire week there. You can see most of the sights in Key West in a day or two.

Have a great trip!

Jane,
o.k. I understand, your trip to Looe Key was from Bahia S.Park.
I, too, look forward to driving through the Keys one day. I just need to have a plan if I'm going to do it with my kids.
Thanks again for the valuable information you have provided. Have a nice day. Tricia

Key Largo to Key West is about 2 hours